Weighing in on everything from avocados to Zimbabwe

America to Zim: Day 22

I am sitting here on the veranda, with the sounds of mbira and softly falling rain in my ears. Each evening each student gets to play together with the visiting teacher (I got to play kutsinhira on just about the fastest version of Chipembere I have ever played). Just now Erica and "Samaita" Vitalis Botsa are playing Mbavarira together -- soothing and haunting both. Samaita (his clan name) was a longtime playing partner of Forward Kwenda's, and he has the same dreamy complicated style. It has been a treat (and a challenge!) to learn some more on both Chipembere and Chipindura from him today.

Lesson time!

Samaita plays on the veranda in the afternoon

Tomorrow my old friend Tute Chigamba will come to teach us a more complicated version of Nyuchi; between him and Samaita these will be the most mentally taxing days, to be sure. Saturday we will go to a sacred shrine; more on that later...